Ball Park Rehab for 1300 square foot house?

Question

What are some ball park estimates to repair a home similar to this and bring it to renting condition?

http://tinyurl.com/7td9bg7

Let's assume it needs:

Water Tank
Drywall/paint
Furnace
Pex plumbing
Windows

I'm trying to determine if buying a property that is in this bad of shape is worth it.  If rehab costs are relatively low, maybe around $10k, then this would be a winner when complete.  However, if rehab cost are north of $25k then the deal would not be worth it.  I could just buy a ready-to-go house for $30k with much less headaches.

J Scott · Answer

You don't provide nearly enough information for anyone here to help you.  For example, this is the least we'd need to know:

- Where are you?
- What level of contractor do you use?
- Do you have contractor overhead, such as GC costs, insurance, etc?
- What level of finishes?
- How big of a water tank?
- How much drywall?
- What size furnace?
- How much plumbing?
- How many windows?

Depending on the answers to those questions, the range could easily be anywhere from $6000 to $20,000.

That said, your best course of action would be to find a good GC in your area who is accustomed to working with investors and working on rental properties, and ask for an all-in bid.

Account Closed · Answer

Hi David, assuming the house was $1300 square feet,   here are some rough numbers from my experience.

-Water Tank    $250-$400  materials; depends on gas or electric      a  plumber will install for $75-$150
-Drywall/paint   drywall is $4 per sheet  paint is $50-$120  per 5 gal
    mud and tape is cheap, you have to find affordable labor
-Furnace      can run up to $3000 installed
-Pex plumbing    $500 max including labor and material
-Windows    windows $200 per window installed (10 windows =$2k)

On the high side it would cost me no more than $7000 to get this all done as long as it's not a drywall gut job.  You should be well within $10k labor and material.  Shop,shop shop around for pricing.  Some additional information and pics would be great so we can get you more information.

Will Barnard · Answer

To add to what James stated, every area is different too. Costs here in CA are likely much higher than those in areas like Michigan for example.

James Martin · Answer

I want to say that this post came up a few weeks ago. I would say that If you don't know or have experience with what things cost, there is no fast way of doing this. Every property is different. The best I think is to physically walk through the house noting everything that needs to be done to it. Take your list to home depot and get prices on the things you need. Also get bids from contractors for labor on everything that you will not be doing.

On the properties I buy and rent, my budget is somewhere between 6k to 10k, but things like needing a new roof can skew your figures up quick. I also make a detailed list of everything that needs to be done and place a price next to it. While I'm doing the rehab I place the actual price next to the budgeted price to ensure that I am within budget and adjust as needed throughout the rehab process. So I would guess for low end rentals will be somewhere at $8 a sqaure foot? 
Honestly, you just don't know what it will cost until you do your due dilligence.

Will Barnard · Answer

David, rehabbing for a buy and hold is a completely different animal than for a flipper. Your post here is in the rehab flipping forum and should belong in the landlording forum (in my opinion) since that is your strategy.

I suggest you get educated on your local costs of such repairs and nail down a figure rather than have everyone on this board guess at it with the limited info.

Michael R. · Answer

I buy these types of properties. Might cost you 3-5k depending how bad it is. I have a guy that will install a used gas furnace for 800$ or less. 500$ for plumbing. Would probably just fix the windows and keep them. Looks like a tiny 2-3 bedroom so costs should not be to high.

Ball Park Rehab for 1300 square foot house?

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